


Life After Death

by clgfanfic



Category: Alias Smith and Jones
Genre: F/M, Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-29
Updated: 2012-10-29
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:36:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heyes needs to spend time celebrating life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life After Death

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Devil's Hole #6 under the pen name Caryn Mayo.

          Hannibal Heyes reveled in the feel of the cards in his hands, the way his fingertips moved over them.  In fact, he was acutely aware of everything happening to his body, and for good reason.  He and the Kid had almost died out in the desert, and a good friend had.  And now the man who was responsible was dead.  Infection had killed Danny Bilson.  Heyes was glad.  The Kid had put a bullet in him, but infection had snuffed his life from his body.  He didn't need to worry about Bilson coming after the Kid any more.

          He and the Kid had come close to dying before, but this had been different – more personal.  It was one thing to get killed by a posse or a bounty hunter looking to get rich, and quite another to lose your life because a man you called a friend stranded you with no horses and no water.  And over the four weeks since they'd walked out of the desert, thirsty, hungry and hurting, Heyes had discovered he was more aware of his body, of colors and sounds, and of the tastes of food and drink.  He wondered if his heightened senses would soon fade, but for now he was content to just enjoy it, and share it with someone – preferably the pretty little red-head who spent her time carrying drinks from the bar to the various tables in the saloon.  He knew she couldn't be more than eighteen, and was obviously still new to life as a saloon whore.  In fact, he was pretty sure she was still a virgin.

          He shook his head, wondering why she'd been forced to turn to this kind of a life.  He'd have to ask Louisa when he saw her later that evening.

He squirmed in his seat.  Damn, but he was horny.

          He sighed.  Well, there was nothing he could do about that right now.  The cowboy he was playing with didn't have the slightest idea how to really play poker, and he planned to build a good-sized stake for him and the Kid.

          He wondered briefly where the Kid was.  He'd taken to heading out for long rides each day after the word of Bilson's death reached them.  He knew Jed was blaming himself for the man's death.  Hell, he'd wanted to kill the man, had every intension of killing him when he'd baited Bilson into the gunfight.  But at the last moment, he'd shifted his aim, wounding the man instead.  And he'd up and died anyway.  Justice, as far as Heyes was concerned, but it was harder for the Kid.

There were times Heyes thought his cousin simply thought too much.  Or maybe it would be better to say that he felt too much.  But in either case, the Kid had a tendency to take on guilt when he shouldn't.

Danny Bilson had done his best to kill them, although he said that he gave them a chance to survive, but it wasn't much of a chance.  No, Bilson had been too much of a coward to kill them himself, so he'd left it to the desert to do his dirty work for him.  But they'd beaten the odds, just like they always had.  They had survived.

          He glanced around the table, suddenly feeling a little sorry for them.  He upped his bet, driving all but one man out of the game and he called.  Heyes laid his full house down and scooped up the pot, saying, "Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure."

          The cowboys grumbled, but they accepted Heyes' offer to buy them all a round, then each wandered off, some to ongoing games, others to the bar.

Heyes stood for a moment, trying to decide what he wanted to do.

          Glancing down at his clothes, which were coated in dull gray trail dust, he decided that the first thing he needed to do was get himself a bath.

No, he corrected himself.  First he'd buy himself a new pair of long underwear, and maybe a new pair of pants and shirt as well.  Hell, he'd pick up a set for the Kid, too.  Then he'd get a bath.  And, if he remembered right, he could get his dirty clothes washed at the bathhouse as well.  And then…   _Dinner_ , he thought.

What was he going to do about that?  He hated eating alone.

Oh well, he decided, heading out of the saloon and starting off down the boardwalk toward the Mercantile.  Maybe he could buy that pretty little red-haired gal's time.  She would make a charming dinner companion.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

Heyes picked up the new clothes, and then returned to his hotel room, leaving the set he'd picked up for the Kid on the bed.  That done, he walked down to the bathhouse, paid the fee, and waited a few minutes for the boy who worked there to empty a tub, scrub it, and re-fill it with clean water.

When the boy was done, Heyes stripped down and handed the kid his dirty clothes, telling him that he wanted them washed and promising a good tip if he was quick.  The boy hurried off.

Stepping into the tub, Heyes let his legs adjust to the hot water, and then slowly eased the rest of his body under the steaming surface, an inch at a time.  When he was sitting in the tub, he leaned back and let the hot water work its magic on his comfortably tired and sore muscles.

A half-hour later he was dressed in his new clothes and heading back to the saloon to see if he could borrow the girl for dinner.

Inside the busy establishment, he waved at Lousia, who hurried over to him, pressing up against his side.

"Joshua," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.  "What can I do for you?"

Heyes had second thoughts.  How was Louisa going to feel if he asked about taking the girl to supper?  He had almost made up his mind to ask her instead, when a disturbance spared him.

He and Lousia turned to find a tall, lanky cowboy holding the small red-haired girl by the arm.  She squealed a second time, crying, "I didn't mean to spill it, Mister!"

Louisa immediately hurried form Heyes' side, sidling up to the angry cowboy and saying, "Easy, stud, she's new.  She didn't mean you any harm."

"Yeah?" the man snapped.  "Look at this!"  He gestured to the front of his pants where a large dark stain made it look like he'd wet himself.

Louisa giggled and dipped her head, looking up at the man through her eyelashes and saying, "I'd say it looks like you're real glad to se me, cowboy."

The man's friends all roared with laugher, and so did the tall man, after a brief moment.  He let the girl go and she skittered to Louisa's side.

"Better teach her how to take care of a man," he told the older whore.  "She's gonna get manhandled a little while she's servin'.  We don't mean no harm neither, just want to sample the goods."

"Well of course you do," Louisa replied with a smile, but her eyes were flashing.  "Come on, honey, let's got get this nice man a new drink."

With one more smile for the lanky cowboy, Louisa herded the girl away from him and over to Heyes.

"I didn't mean no harm," the girl said breathlessly.  "He grabbed my–"  She stopped and blushed, her gaze flickering from Heyes to Louisa.

The older whore rolled her eyes, then looked at Heyes and said, "Brigit, honey, men are just gonna do that.  Nothing we can do about it except smile and make a little joke."  She looked from the girl to Heyes and back again.  "Honey, I want you to go up to my room and wait there, will you do that?"

"Yes, Miss Louisa," she replied, her cheeks coloring again.

"Then go on with you.  It's time you learned the trade."

When the girl was on her way up the stairs, Louisa turned to Heyes and said, "Joshua, I have a favor to ask you."

"Anything for you," he replied gallantly.

"Brigit is brand new to this life," she explained.  "Burt's pushing for her to do more 'n carry drinks to the men, but a girl's first time, well, it can ruin some whores, if she gets some mean bastard.  I was wonderin', would you do me a favor and go up there and show her it don’t always have to be hard or bad? "

Heyes hesitated for a moment, but then he felt his cock twitch and he nodded.  "I can do that… for you."

She grinned.  "Yeah, I can see that," he replied, shooting a glance at his crotch.  "You just go nice and slow with her, you hear?"

"I'll do my best," Heyes replied with a grin.

Louisa shook her head.  "I'll tell Burt you're breaking in the new girl.  He'll probably give it to you for free, since he'll be able to keep her busy, given the looks she's been getting'.  Hell, I'm bettin' old man Matthews will marry her before winter sets in and he can't get in from his ranch.  She'll have a roof and when he dies, a little money."

Heyes frowned for a moment, but he nodded.  "Sounds like you wish you could trade places with her," he said gently.

She snorted softly and shook her head, but the tears gleaming in her eyes told him the real story.  "Hell no, why, I wouldn't know what to do with just one man."

Heyes nodded.  "Guess I better get up there."

"Be good to her, Joshua, like you are with me.  Promise."

"I will," he said sincerely, then turned and headed up the stairs.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

Heyes stepped into room and closed the door behind him.  When he turned, he stopped.  She was so damned beautiful, the tight bodice and short skirt she wore only enhancing her perfect figure.

She head dropped and stared at the floor as she said, "I guessed Miss Louisa was gonna send you up here."

"You did?" Heyes asked, unable to stop his gaze from caressing her breasts.

"Burt's been wantin' me to service the patrons, but Miss Louisa said it was too soon."  She lifted her head and met his gaze.  "You gonna hurt me?"

"I'll try not to," Heyes said as he walked over to stand in front of her.  He watched her nipples harden under the pale peach-colored silk that covered them as if he'd touched his lips to them, instead of his gaze.

Brigid sucked in a gasp when Heyes reached out and gently ran his fingertip along her cheek, the strength and suddenness of her desire for him overwhelmed her and she took an unsteady step back, blinking rapidly.

Heyes was instantly beside her, his arm around her shoulders to steady her.  "Are you all right?" he asked, his tone worried.

She smiled and nodded, saying, "I'm fine, sir.  I'm sorry."  She wondered if he could sense the thaw taking place in her lower belly.

Heyes released her and took a step away.  _I have to be a gentleman_ , he thought, wondering if he could get her to make love to him willingly.  It would be better for both of them.

She looked up at him.  "What would you like me to do?" she asked, trying not to sound as frightened as she felt.

Heyes smiled, looking a little uncomfortable.  "Well, I was going to ask Burt if I could borrow your time, so we could have dinner over in the café…"

"Dinner?" she asked.

He looked down, meeting her startling green eyes.  "Are you hungry?"

She shook her head, her gaze still locked with his.  He was handsome and, truth be told, she'd hoped he or his friend might be her first.  They seemed like nice men.  "Maybe later?" she asked.

Heyes closed the space between them.  She curled her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest with a shaky sigh.  He felt so warm and good to her touch.  She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but what she knew was coming was still frightening.  A soft moan escaped her lips.

Heyes heard the need in the sound and wrapped her in an embrace, pulling her tightly against him.  She tipped her head back to look into his eyes, her hunger and fear both perfectly clear.

"How old are you, Brigit?" he asked, trembling slightly.

"Nineteen," she whispered as she pressed her slim hips against him like she'd seen the other whores do, feeling the hard swell that proclaimed him a man.  "I'm just small for my age is all."

He closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath, almost unable to believe his ears.  She wasn't a child.  His lips, when they touched hers, were hot and hard.  She clutched at him almost frantically as his tongue meshed with hers.

"Oh my," she breathed when they stopped to pull air into their empty lungs.

Heyes reached up, cupping her lace-covered breasts in his hands and squeezing her nipples through the soft material.

She could feel the heat of his fingers as they touched her, and an answering fire began to burn low in her belly.  She wanted him.  She wanted him _now_.  It was an all-consuming need that had no boundaries.  Pressing herself against his hands, she looked up, meeting his intense, wanting gaze.  She felt herself drowning in his dark brown eyes.  She wondered if other men would be like this one, and somehow knew they wouldn't be.  The thought saddened her, but she was determined to make the best of this.  She moaned again, shivering under his touch.

Without a word, Heyes scooped her up and carried her to bed.  He set her down on the bed and reached for her breasts again.  His palms flattened and began to rotate in slow circles over her still hard nipples.  It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to let him untie her bodice and slip it off.  Her hands automatically cupped his head as he kissed a trail down from her throat.

"You're so beautiful," he said, raising his heavily-lidded gaze to meet hers.

"Thank you," she breathed, the circular stroking of his thumbs on her nipples making anything more impossible.

He untied her shoes and pulled them off.  He unhooked her skirt and tugged it off next, moving it gently over her raised hips.  Only her chemise remained on.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, off her half-hidden breasts.  They were round and porcelain white and the nipples were small and hard, poking against the thin fabric.  He helped her out of that as well, and his gaze delved lower, taking in her perfect skin, her narrow waist, her navel, and finally coming to rest on the V of her most intimate space.  He took a deep breath and looked up, meeting her eyes.

She gave him a tentative smile.

In a quick, fluid movement he joined her on the bed, stretched out beside her, supporting himself on one elbow so he could look into her eyes.

"Tell me what you see," she said softly.

"A very beautiful young woman," he replied, dipping his head and running his lips across her shoulder before claiming her lips.  Their tongues meshed in hot, coiling foreplay.  He pulled away first.

Brigit sighed as his mouth made contact with her bare skin, hot and sweet.  He bent down, kissed the closer nipple and when she moaned, he lifted his head to watch her expression as he kissed the other one.

She reached out, her hand rubbing up and down his back.  "You don't undress?"

He touched her lips with his fingertips and she kissed them.  His lips brushed feather-light against the corner of her mouth, then across her cheek and to her temple.

Brigit turned her head so quickly he didn't have time to draw away.  Her mouth caught his with a wild determination.  He tensed, but relaxed quickly, his tongue stroking deeply into her mouth.

His hunger became hers and in turn fed him.

"You are going to get undressed, aren't you?" she asked when their lips finally parted.

He smoothed her hair away from her face, his touch gossamer light.  His gentleness surprised her, and it made her feel powerful and loved at the same time.  It was a unique sensation, one she realized she could easily become addicted to.

"I will, in a little while," he said, his voice heavy with promise.  He held her gaze while he brushed his fingers over her breasts, sending erotic shivers down her spine.  She closed her eyes when he cupped one in his hand and squeezed softly.  He kissed her eyes, brows, cheeks, frantic kisses that burned and tingled.  His mouth grazed the corner of hers, and she turned toward him blindly, wanting to devour his mouth.

"Easy," he cooed.  "Slow.  Go slow."

"I'm on fire," she whispered, her fingers curling into his back and the bedspread.

"So am I," he breathed against her cheek.  "But let me make this good for you."

She savored the feel of his hands as they closed over her breasts again.  Then he lowered his head and touched his tongue to one pale auburn areola.

"Oh yes," she gasped, her hips grinding into the bed.

He caught the tip of one nipple in his mouth, his lips teasing and tormenting her.  She arched against his mouth, her hands coming up to caress the sides of his face.

"You're still dressed," she pouted, "I want to touch you.  Please."

She watched as he rolled off the bed.  Standing, he quickly unbuttoned his new shirt and dropped over the back of a chair.  She grinned when he blushed at her interested look.  He licked his lips as he unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off.  She opened her arms to him, but he moved to the foot of the bed instead.  He started at her ankles, sliding his fingers slowly up her calves.  He stroked higher, past her knees, over her thighs.  His fingertips brushed her hips and she lifted them a little.  His fingers sought and found her delicate inner flesh.

A warm sensation curled through her, but she couldn't tell him how he made her feel, she didn't understand it, had no language for it.

He touched her, lightly, and she opened her legs for him, arching her back, her body silently begging him to enter her.  At the first stroke of his tongue she exploded; her body arched high and her throat strained with a cry of gratification too deep to utter.

She shuddered back to full awareness slowly.  He still knelt beside her.  "Why'd you do that?" she asked, reaching out to stroke his already hard nipple.  Her fingers moved easily through the soft hair that dusted his chest.  "I want you to have me.  You'll have me, won't you?"

"Yes, I will," he promised, capturing her hand, kissing her palm.  "But I wanted you to see how good it can feel."

And then Heyes was moving again, kissing, fondling, exploring her long past the point where instinct told her he should have needed to enter her.  She writhed when he used his tongue to taste and tease her a second time.

She'd never seen a naked man before, and she took the opportunity to discover its glories.  With hands and mouth, with her entire body, she explored him.  Every inch of him, except for his manhood, which still frightened her.  His skin moved over muscle that rippled beneath her greedy fingers.  He moaned softly, letting her know she was challenging his control.

Then he was moving, kneeling between her legs again.  When his tongue plunged deep inside the welcoming hotness of her body, she cried out, pleasure overtaking her for a second time.  She bucked against his face, then collapsed, panting for breath.

He was beside her, kissing her.  She lifted her fingertip to trace the dark, winged shape of his eyebrows.  He moved his head to coax her finger to his lips.  She felt the silky stroke of his tongue.

He reached out and pulled her flush against his chest and she gave her mouth to him in a moaning kiss that was a mix of surrender and invitation.

His hands moved, his touch light, seemingly everywhere at once.  He touched his mouth to the pale auburn nipple again, and then sucked, gently at first, then harder as her touch quickened his flesh to a tiny point of pure pleasure.

Her eyes followed his heavy-lidded gaze down to where his fingers were parting her thighs, tracing up and down the silken delta between them.

"Is this what you want?" he asked in a husky undertone.

"Yes… please."

He was beside her again, his mouth devouring hers.  Then, as if surprised to feel his hardness pressed against her stomach, she gasped.

"See what you do to me?" he asked thickly, his hand guiding hers to his straining manhood, his fingers parting her thighs again to delve into the soft auburn down to her femininity.  He kissed her.

Brigit gasped her pleasure into his mouth with each sweet, unfurling stroke of his fingers.  "Oh, please, I'm going to–"

"Go with it."

Desperately she arched her hips upward to the ever greater pleasure of his touch, and then she cried out.

"Easy," he cooed.  "The pain is all over, I promise.  Just wait a moment, and the pleasure will come back.  I promise."

A moment later, he began to stroke her again, and as soon as the pain passed, she began to arch her hips up again.  He dipped inside on each down stroke, increasing the erotic tempo.  "Let it happen," he urged her.

Her breath came in sharp pants as she surrendered to his whispered pleas, and lifted her ever higher until she climaxed for the third time, her breath coming in long, shuddering gasps as her hips pressed up, her muscles trying to pull his fingers in deeper.

"Oh yes," Heyes said as her fingers curled and uncurled on his hardness, still needing more.  "I knew you'd be like this, ready for everything I want to give you."

When Brigit drifted back down to the golden glow of reality Heyes brushed her lips with a feathery kiss and lazily resumed his sensual stroking.

"Oh, yes."  She sucked in a breath as the spell of his touch wove over and into her again, warm and sinuous like slow fire in her veins.  She felt his hardened manhood throb and jump in her hand.  She caressed him, the silky feel of him arousing her even more.  "Will you put it inside me?" she breathed.

He rolled over on top of her and Brigit felt her legs part without conscious thought as he covered her.  He stared down into her eyes, brushing the apex of her thighs with his hardness.  The undiluted desire he saw there was all it took to assure him she was ready.

She gasped as his hips jerked, trying to capture him.  She pulled him close, kissing his shoulder lightly.

"Soon, darling, soon," he whispered, trying to kiss her.

"Soon?" she asked, thrusting her hips up hard, trapping his hardness between their bellies.  She reached out, taking hold of him, guiding him to where she wanted him.

He thrust his hips, but refused to enter her, making her burn.  He tried again, but denied himself.  She moaned, but it ended in a soft cry, almost a whimper.  The head of his cock touched her most private part.  She was slick and ready.  He slipped his flared head inside of her.  She was tight, so tight and hot, and he fought for the control he needed to go slow.  His lips dusted kisses on her neck as he pressed deeper into her.

"Am I hurting you?" he panted.

"No," she said, the surprise in her tone making him smile.

He withdrew slowly, and then plunged deep inside her center.  She reveled in his strength, hot and pulsing.

He leaned down to kiss her.  Then his hips began to move, slowly and deliberately. 

She tossed her head, feeling him expand inside of her.  She caught his rhythm as if she'd always known it, rising to meet him, falling back, the muscles of her belly contracting and relaxing with ever-expanding tension.  She locked her legs around his buttocks and whispered soft words of encouragement that coaxed him into the long, plunging thrusts that propelled him faster, faster.

"Soon, darling…"  He was unable to say more.  He could only feel, feel as he'd never felt before.

She moaned and clung to him, her hips pounding against his as they moved together.

They climaxed together.  The sensation so completed her, so merged her body with his that it left her weak with joy and awe.  She exhaled in one long sigh and dropped slowly back to earth.

Heyes collapsed next to her and they shifted so he could hold her, spoon fashion, the front of his body curving against the back of hers.  His arms were around her, one beneath her head, with his hand on her breast, the other arm across her waist, his hand snug between her thighs.

He wiggled his fingers.  "Well, what do you think?"

She squeezed her legs together, trapping his hand.  "It felt so good," she said emphatically.  "I didn't think it would.  Some of the other girls said it hurts."

Heyes went very still.  "A man shouldn’t hurt a woman, but I'd be lying if I told you it'll never happen.  Some men are just… mean."

"I know," she replied.  "I saw Rachel a few days ago…  She said he beat her because she wouldn't let him–"  She stopped, too embarrassed to finish.

He grunted softly in reply, but moved his hand onto her hip.  "This is a hard life, Brigit.  Why didn't you try something else?"

She wiggled back against him.  "I can't read or write, or do figures," she said.  "My ma and pa are gone.  My brother died in the war.  I had a sister, but the fever took her.  I was all alone.  I couldn't stay on the farm.  I came here, to get a job, but no one would take me.  Well, Mr. White did, over at the restaurant, but he grabbed me in the back, like the cowboys here do.  When Mrs. White caught us, she sent me away.  Told me I was nothing but a whore and should be working at the saloon with the rest of the whores.  There was nowhere else for me to go."

"No young man to marry you?" Heyes asked.

She shook her head.  "Fever killed him, too."

"I'm sorry," Heyes said.

"Guess God doesn't think much of me," she said.  "He didn't hear any of my prayers."

"I wouldn't know about that," he explained.  "He and I haven't been on the best of terms either."

"Maybe I could stay with you?" she asked, then waited, and when he didn't reply she continued, "Guess having a whore tagging along might not be real good for you."

Heyes sighed softly.  "Brigit, I wish I could take you out of here, but I can't.  You see, my partner and I, well, we're not exactly on the right side of the law just yet.  We want to be, but we haven't got there yet.  It would be too dangerous."

"Oh," she said.

"You hungry now?" he asked.

She nodded her head.

He gently kissed the back of her shoulder.

She closed her eyes and sighed.  "You gonna take me to the café for a real dinner?"

"Yes, I am."  He rolled over and sat up on the side of the bed.

She rolled onto her back and looked up at him.  She reached out, her hand on his arm.  "Thank you.  For not hurting me."

He looked down at her, his expression dark and troubled.

"I'd like it if you could stay with me tonight," she added.

He swallowed, his breath caught in his throat, but he nodded.

She smiled.

He would give her some good memories, and hope that her life wasn't too hard, even if he knew it would be.

The End


End file.
